When Norwegian artist Morten Traavik traveled to North Korea, he met
students from the Pyongyang Kum Song School of Music and gave them a CD
of Euro-pop group a-ha. The students surprised
him by performing "Take On Me" on accordions.

After giving the students the CD on a Monday night, they surprised
him by playing their own improvised version of “Take On Me”
on Wednesday morning. Mr. Traavik made a video of them and decided to
post it on YouTube to promote the festival. Since he put it up on Thursday,
the video has gone viral, passed along by North Korea watchers and others
mystified or intrigued by the idea of musicians in a collective society
with traditional instruments playing one of the classics of 1980s Euro-pop.

Mr. Traavik said he’s noticed the video has attracted the
normal skepticism about its origins and whether the musicians were threatened
to learn the music or secretly dislike it. He said he views them as
normal artists who, skilled at their instrument, did what was natural
when presented with something they liked – tried to re-create
it.

“I think it’s quite evident from the video that you
can’t accomplish that in such a time if you would suppose those
young musicians actually hate what they’re doing,” he said.

@I-)The accordion is not touted by totalitarian regimes as the instrument of the people. It is a widely used instrument. It has many variations and is considered a traditional instrument in other countries.